1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooling assembly and more particularly pertains to drying of air using a drum with desiccant rotating between air paths with a cooling assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of air conditioners is known in the prior art. More specifically, air conditioners heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of processing cooled air are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
In this respect, the cooling assembly according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of drying of air using a drum with desiccant rotating between air paths.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for new and improved cooling assembly which can be used for drying of air using a drum with desiccant rotating between air paths. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the art.
Another object of the present invention is to convey process air through a drying section where moisture, particles and unwanted gasses are absorbed or adsorbed based on the materials used in the composition of the exchanger or wheel. Although a wheel processor is picked for clarity this patent is not limited to the use of a wheel, it could be a toaster, here a holder containing desiccant material is moved between two paths, one for dehumidification of processed air (absorption of moisture) the other for the processing or drying of this air (Desorption of moisture).
Desiccants and Desiccant Dehumidification, desiccant materials have a great affinity for water vapor, and typically their moisture content is a function of the relative humidity of the surrounding air. When exposed to low relative humilities desiccant materials come to equilibrium at low moisture contents also when exposed to high relative humilities there results an equilibrium at high moisture contents. Actually all materials exhibit desiccant type behavior but the term desiccant is reserved for materials for which this behavior can be exploited to produce some predictable and useful result.
A desiccant dehumidifier is a device that uses a desiccant material to produce a dehumidification effect. The process consists in the exposure of the desiccant material to a high relative humidity air stream, allowing it to attract and retain some of the water vapor and then exposing the same desiccants to a lower relative humidity air stream which has the effect of drawing the retained moisture from the desiccant. The first air stream is the air that is being dehumidified while the second stream is used to regenerate the desiccant material (renew) so that it can be recycled for another time. It should be observed that the first air streams water vapor content is reduced while the second air stream's water vapor is increased. Generally the lower relative humidity air stream is air taken from a source, being processed, and heated to reduce its relative humidity. As can be seen desiccant dryers normally consume heat energy to produce their drying or dehumidifying effect.
Desiccant dehumidification is accomplished through the use of four major components. The item that holds the desiccant(s) of which there are several major types, a fan to move the process air to be dehumidified through the holder, a fan also to move the processed low humidity air being regenerated again through the desiccant holder and a heater to heat the regeneration air that is used to dry the desiccant. The above describes the use of one of several techniques used in dehumidification called cyclical or toaster type of operation. In this case the desiccant is in a container through which the air is passed first into the process stream allowing it to reach saturation, then it is cycled into the low humidity stream, heated air, and processed until it is dry or regenerated. Generally there are sets of two or more of these containers that are alternated between streams. This process with one set of containers produce a varying process since the adsorption and Desorption rates vary as the desiccant reaches saturation. A non-cyclical method of desiccant dehumidification is produced when the desiccant is contained in a rotating holder or wheel. Both air streams pass through the wheel accomplishing processing and regeneration at the same time in separate sections of the desiccant holders or wheel. The wheel rotates very slowly based on the thickness of the wheel and relative temperature difference between the air streams.
In actual practice these air streams must not be allowed to commingle with each other. Ducting and careful insulation of the separate chambers accomplishes this. Naturally since one side of the wheel, the regeneration or dehumidifying side is heated some heat is transferred to the processing side raising the ambient temperature of air being dehumidified, this is also addressed in this patent.
Another less technical way to describe this process is that after the absorber is effectively saturated based on data or art, it is then relocated to an adjacent chamber that removes the absorbed, adsorbed or trapped particles, the process removes these undesired items through the use of temperature differential, change in pressures or volume of air in the exchange area, a counter flow also removes any large trapped particles.
Another object of the present invention is to optimize the heat transfer capabilities in air conditioners and other devices of the type which normally employ heat exchangers.
A further object of the present invention is to transfer moisture and particles and gasses from air in one path to another path.
The foregoing has outlined some of the pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.